The agitation of aqueous systems which contain microbes produces aerosol particles which contain the microbes. Aerosol particles, as commonly designated, include the true aerosol particles of from a few millimicrons to about 1 micron in diameter, and larger particles which can have diameters of more than 100 microns. (See Encyclopaedia Britainnica, Micropaedia, Vol. I, page 114, 15th Ed., 1975) These aerosol particles, are forcefully ejected from the aqueous system by agitation and can be subsequently carried by air currents, whereupon they can enter the human body through respiration or through hand-to-mouth contact with surfaces upon which the particles eventually settle. Baylor et al., Science, 198, pp. 575-580, November 1977, report that virus is transferred from sea water into the surrounding air by aerosolization from the surf, and that the concentration of virus in the aerosol is greater than in the main body of sea water. They indicate that this has public health implications in regions where sewage is dumped into coastal waters.
Gerba et al. in Applied Microbiology 30,2:pp. 229-237 (1975) describe a study in which it was found that bacteria and virus seeded into toilet bowls appeared in aerosol droplets produced by the toilet during flushing, and that these droplets remained airborne long enough to settle on surfaces throughout the bathroom.
From the foregoing it is apparent that a reduction in aerosolization from wastewater containing human waste is desirable as a means of reducing the potential for disease transmission from said wastewater.
It is an object of the present invention to reduce the potential for disease transmission from wastewater by incorporating into said wastewater a material which reduces the tendency of the wastewater to form aerosol particles when subjected to turbulence.
It is a further object of the invention to reduce the potential for disease transmission from flushing toilets by dispensing into the flush water an agent which reduces aerosolization.
It is a further object of the invention to reduce the potential for disease transmission from aerated or agitated sewage treatment processes by incorporating an agent which reduces aerosolization into the wastewater which is treated by such processes.
The attainment of these and other objects will be apparent from the following description.